Roslindale woman ready for Pan-Mass Challenge

Pan-Mass Challenge rider Anastasia Vassos, of Roslindale, will be riding for Stem Cell Cyclists which is raising money for stem cell research of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Shang Gao/Wicked Local correspondent

What inspired you to participate in the Pan-Mass Challenge?

To be honest, it was the athletic challenge of riding distances on my bicycle – I had just started to get into cycling. I also had a friend who had organized a team, so I thought it would be fun to join her team and raise money for a great cause. The team is called Stem Cell Cyclists, and was focused on raising money for stem cell research of Dana-Farber (Cancer Institute), which is something that I believed in. So, those were sort of the combination of reasons that I started it.

How does the team work?

Sometimes we train together. We have training rides where we ride together, but mostly it’s about a group of us raising money that is restricted to the research of one doctor of Dana-Farber, and his name is Dr. Corey Cutler. He does stem cell research at Dana-Farber, and so that’s really sort of the reason that we have come together as a team.

Is this your first time or have you completed the event before?

This year will be my 8th year.

How have you been preparing for the PMC?

It takes a lot of time because you put in a lot of miles on the road, and sometimes, especially … closer to the date, the more intense it gets, because you are putting in more time and you are doing more miles, and also for those of us who do two days, we train back-to-back, like two days in a row, so it’s kind of grueling in a way, but it’s also … the focus and the cause that keeps you going. I have to say that riding the PMC isn’t just a bike ride, it’s such an amazingly emotional and inspirational experience for two days that one is really carried along by the excitement and by the goodness of people who were doing all the fundraising.

Do you have any advice for other riders?

Ride your bike. Just do it. Put in the miles, put in the training. Make sure that you are hydrating, that you are eating and that you are drinking enough, those are really the most important things.

What is your fundraising goal?

$4,300

What does this event mean to you?

It becomes very personal. I met a cyclist once on a ride and she said, “What are the Stem Cell Cyclists anyway?” And I said to her: “We raise money for Dr. Corey Cutler to do stem cell research at Dana-Farber.” And she said to me, “Really? I’m alive because of Corey Cutler.”

So, this woman was a cancer survivor. It was a devastating disease and he was able to help her get through it. She almost died because of it. So that was a pretty special moment.

And the other thing is, when Dr. Cutler does his research papers, he gives a credit line to our team because he has to disclose where his funding comes from, so we always get a credit line … which is pretty special.

The 34th annual PMC will take place Aug. 3 and 4. The event is an annual bike-a-thon that raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the country. The PMC donates 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund. The ride has two starting lines in Sturbridge and in Wellesley, and five finish lines in Provincetown (2), Bourne, Wellesley and Foxboro. For more information, go to PMC.org.

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